The process of fabricating thin film photovoltaic (PV) modules includes steps which subdivide layers into individual series connected solar cells. For example, in the existing art, for each interconnection fabricated, the fabrication process typically involves cutting three or more scribes. This includes opening scribes into one or more already deposited layers before subsequent layers are deposited to create electrical interconnects. Then, a final scribe is cut partially into the layers to form electrically distinct PV cells.
Such alternating steps of depositing and scribing and depositing require precision alignments so that the opening of scribes is performed in a fashion that avoids destroying or damaging structures created in previous scribing and depositing steps. That is, each scribe after the first scribe must be aligned in parallel such as to avoid re-scribing a region where a previous scribe was formed. One problem with performing such precision alignments is that performing the alignments takes an appreciable amount of time, which slows the rate at which PV modules can be fabricated. Alternately, when implemented in industrial fabrication facilities, precision alignment is often sacrificed in favor of throughput. Thus to compensate for the lower precision alignments, greater distances between scribes are provided, which increases the total area of the resulting interconnect. Since regions of the PV module where interconnects exist do not contribute to the PV current generation, one direct consequence of the lower precision alignments is that a smaller region of the module is available for PV current generation. For example, for a sub cell that is 10 mm wide, a ½ mm (500 um) interconnect region results in 5% loss of each cell's area that can contribute to PV generation. Therefore, for the reasons described above, there is a need in the art for systems and methods for providing narrower electrical interconnects that do not require high precision alignments.
The foregoing examples of the related art and limitations related therewith are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of the related art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon a reading of the specification and a study of the drawings.